Houston residents are reporting repeated brief power outages across multiple neighborhoods as CenterPoint Energy faces renewed scrutiny.
Houston Chronicle/Hearst Newspap/Houston Chronicle via Getty Imag
Houstonians across the region are once again reporting a familiar frustration: brief but recurring power outages that last anywhere from a few seconds to an hour—sometimes without any major storm in sight.
From Spring and Tomball to Montrose, the Heights, Pearland, Alief and beyond, residents say the interruptions have become increasingly noticeable in recent weeks, raising renewed questions about grid reliability heading into hurricane season.
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“Do we live in a 3rd world country?” one Nextdoor user wrote in frustration.
Chron asked readers about their recent experiences with outages and the post quickly drew responses from across the Houston area.
“Power went out twice yesterday when it was thundering, I was in Northside almost to Spring,” one Reddit user told Chron.
However, it’s not just during severe weather that power will go out.
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“I’m in Tomball and we’ve had about 3 random outages for a few minutes at a time since Saturday. Haven’t had one before that in over a year,” another user told Chron on Reddit.
“I’ve had to reset the clocks on the stove and microwave three times in the past two weeks,” a Pearland resident added. “Two were during the daytime storms, one was overnight, and longer duration, as I woke in a pool of what I hope was my own sweat.”
Even inside Chron’s newsroom, the issue briefly hit home—literally—when the lights flickered moments before an interview with CenterPoint Energy.
Houston residents are reporting repeated brief power outages across multiple neighborhoods as CenterPoint Energy faces renewed scrutiny. (Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Houston Chronicle/Hearst Newspap/Houston Chronicle via Getty Imag
One neighborhood seeing particularly frequent interruptions is West University Place, where residents have reported near-daily outages in recent weeks. In a message to customers, CenterPoint acknowledged ongoing reliability problems in the area, apologized for the disruptions, and said crews have been actively working to identify and repair underlying issues.
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The utility has spent the past two years under intense scrutiny after Hurricane Beryl and the 2024 derecho left hundreds of thousands of customers without power, making CenterPoint one of the most criticized companies in Texas.
Since then, the company says it has invested billions into grid resiliency upgrades, expanded vegetation management and installed new automation technology designed to reduce both the frequency and duration of outages.
Still, officials acknowledge the system is not yet where customers want it to be.
“I don’t look at it like we’re trying to win back the hearts,” Nathan Brownell, CenterPoint Energy’s vice president of resiliency and capital delivery, told Chron in an interview Wednesday. “Our motive is really to provide the level of service our customers expect.”
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New technology, and why lights may “blink”
Brownell said some of the short-lived outages customers are experiencing may actually be tied to newer grid technology designed to isolate problems faster and restore power more quickly,
The new technology involves devices known as smart reclosers, which are designed to detect issues such as lightning strikes, vegetation contact or equipment faults and automatically isolate affected portions of the grid before restoring power to most customers.
“There are times when your power should start to blink,” Brownell said. “That’s the system kind of healing itself and isolating where the issues are happening,”
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Not every brief outage is tied to severe weather, though, he added. In some cases, wildlife can also trigger temporary interruptions.
“If we have a squirrel get on the line or if we have a tree that falls over, or sometimes if we have a piece of equipment get into our line, you may see that momentary outage as the system’s trying to heal itself,” Brownell said.
When asked about the role of squirrels, Brownell laughed.
“That is a challenge for all utilities in the United States!” he explained. “Those squirrels love our infrastructure and they do get into it.”
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‘Not a great experience’
That doesn’t mean every outage is normal or should be taken any less seriously. And Brownell acknowledged customers may experience recurring interruptions unrelated to weather or wildlife and said CenterPoint tracks those locations individually.
“If they’re experiencing momentary outages consistently, that’s not a great experience, and we are very focused on improving that,” he said.
Brownell also noted CenterPoint uses inspection teams and follow-up action plans to identify recurring trouble spots and determine whether damaged equipment, aging infrastructure or other localized issues are contributing to repeated outages.
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For customers experiencing frequent interruptions, though, Brownell encouraged them to report the outages directly to CenterPoint even if the lights come back on quickly.
CenterPoint Energy is under renewed scrutiny as Houston neighborhoods experience repeated short power outages, raising concerns ahead of hurricane season (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)
George Rose/Getty Images
“We want to interact with our customers and know the issues that’s bothering them about their level of service,” he said. “We’re committed to providing the level of service that they expect.”
Looking ahead
As hurricane season begins and Houston prepares to host the FIFA World Cup later this month, Brownell said the company remains confident in its preparations.
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“We’re prepared. This is years in the making of being focused on both of these events,” he said. “We’ve done over 700 projects in preparation to make sure the areas where the FIFA events are going to happen they’re ready to go.”
For many Houstonians, though, the immediate concern is less about hurricanes or international soccer tournaments and more about whether the lights will stay on long enough to finish a work call without wondering if a squirrel, rain or vegetation will get in the way.